It's a total mess. The new AD, Oliver Luck, wanted to replace Bill Stewart last fall as he saw the program sliding back into mediocrity after Rodriguez left for Michigan. Stewart, however, is popular with a lot of fans who see his "aw shucks" personality as a nice change from the prior coach. Stewart is known as a nice guy and a loyal West Virginian. So Luck concocted a "head coach in waiting" plan with Dana Holgorson, essentially forcing Stewart out of the HC position. The intention was noble, I suppose--he wanted to save Stewart the embarrassment of being fired and hoped the fans would find this a palatable arrangement. Stewart had to go along with the plan because there have been some NCAA infractions under his watch and those infractions would have been sufficient grounds for termination. He was essentially being granted a "farewell season."

As this story surfaces, it appears that Stewart's feelings were hurt by this forced removal and it seems he may have tried to sabotage the "head coach in waiting" deal back in December. This is all rumor at this point but Stewart's "good guy" reputation seems to be very much in jeopardy.

The real problem is that Stewart never should have been hired in the first place. He won the Fiesta Bowl with Rodriguez's players/scheme and was handed the job without having any legitimate head coaching credentials. Oliver Luck is trying to undo the damage of the previous athletic director but I personally think he would have been smarter to simply fire Stewart and hire Holgorson. He hoped for a smooth transition but it has totally backfired.

Some controversy has been made by Holgorson, who is known to party a bit too hard and was asked to leave a casino a week or two ago. I don't think that's a big deal but in light of all the other issues it paints a very unsavory picture of WVU.

I didn't attend WVU--my dad did--but I've been going to games my whole life. I've always hoped the school could change its reputation as a backwoods, hillbilly operation but it seems that they keep doing dumb things to keep that reputation alive.

_________________Proud member of the Contract Extension for Schwartz Fan Club.

I knew there was a "coach in waiting" but the animosity between Holgerson and Stewart I was totally unaware of. Stewart always rubbed me the wrong way, and I think it would be good for the school and athletic program to get him out of there.

For those following along, it looks like Bill Stewart will be fired today. The allegations of his smear campaign run deeper than I originally thought. Not only did he apparently ask reporters to dig up dirt on Dana Holgorsen back in December, but it appears that he recently leaked false reports of Holgorsen's involvement in alcohol related incidents to reporters. The university investigated the various accusations against Holgorsen and found them all to be false. This is all according to "sources," as the university isn't addressing any of this stuff publicly.

We'll probably never know for sure if Stewart actually did all of these things but apparently WVU's investigation has yielded enough damning evidence to send Stew packing. He always seemed like a good father-figure type but if the allegations are true, he's not at all the man WVU fans thought him to be. Very sad day but ultimately the program is getting a MUCH better coach out of the situation.

_________________Proud member of the Contract Extension for Schwartz Fan Club.